Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Hygienic Research Institute (HRIPL) has assigned its media duties to Mediacom, following a multi-agency pitch. 
 
As part of its new mandate, Mediacom will handle the entire HRIPL portfolio which includes hair colours, hair oils, shampoos, skin care products, decorative cosmetics and shaving cream. 
 
The product variety is more than 20 in range and work under the brand names of Vasmol and Streax.

Says Mediacom general manager Ashwini Kamat, “Our performance on existing clients, strategic business inputs and innovative use of media is what got HRIPL to entrust their brands to Mediacom.”

The size of the account is pegged at Rs 200 million.

MUMBAI: While the wait has been long, Star Plus has once again returned to the top to regain its spot as the number one Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) for the week ended 27 February, as per the latest Tam data (HSM, C&S4+).

This has come after a gap of 22 weeks, a triumph that the channel had last witnessed in week 38 of 2009 with 281 GRPs. 
 
Riding high on the ratings of its weekday primetime programming, which has seen an 11-point rise over the previous week (130 GRPs, 7-11 pm), Star Plus managed to surge ahead of Colors (286 GRPs) with 300 GRPs.

The properties that have helped the channel elevate its score are Yeh Rishta (Monday-Friday 9.30 pm) and Bidaai (Monday-Friday 9 pm) with a peak TVR of 7.5 and 7.48 respectively. Pratigya (Mon-Fri 10.30 pm) and Behenein (Mon-Fri 8.30 pm) too contributed well to the channel‘s upward swing with peak TVRs of 3.8 and 3.6 respectively.
 
Says Star India EVP marketing Anupam Vasudev, “We do not think that leadership is a weekly game, and are committed to consistently creating great content. We are happy that Star Plus viewers love the current lineup of shows like Yeh Rishta, Bidaai and Sabki Ladli Bebo, while appreciating the new shows like Pratigya, Behnein and Sasural Genda Phool.”

“Clearly the rise in GRPs is based on our programming and not on a one-off event or movie, which is very encouraging, given the changes in existing content and new show launches etc,” he adds.

Meantime, while Colors remains stable on its weekday primetime (140 GRPs), its mild fall has come during the weekend viewing hours. The channel‘s weekend programming, which principally sees movies as the staple diet, failed for the week as Qurbaan (Sunday, 4pm) failed to attract audience attention. 
 
Thus overall, the movie genre contribution towards the channel, which otherwise remains high, has stood at only 22 points, down from the 37 points that it had registered in the previous week. Additionally, Colors has also seen a four-point downfall in its weekday afternoon programming (18 GRPs, Mon-Fri 1-3 pm) and a three-point downfall in its weekend original (7 GRPs).

As for Zee, it still remains the third in command with 246 GRPs (241 GRPs in previous week). The channel remained stable almost on all fronts as its weekday primetime, weekday afternoon, weekend original and movies stay put at 130 GRPs (133 GRPs in previous week), 14 GRPs (13 GRPs), 14 GRPs (14 GRPs) and 17 GRPs (17 GRPs) respectively.

Meanwhile, Sony Entertainment Television (Set) has seen a further fall in its scorecard as it pocketed 139 GRPs, down from its previous week‘s tally of 155 GRPs, while Imagine TV clocked 123 GRPs in the week, from 128 GRPs last week.

BANGALORE: The Advertising club of Cochin (Ad club Cochin) has called for entries for the third edition of its annual ‘Pepper Awards’. The awards function will be held at Kochi on 26 March, 2010.
 
The competition will be open to categories such as agency of the year award, advertiser of the year, art director of the year, copywriter of the year, special jury award, campaign of the year, press campaign, TV commercial, corporate AV, outdoor, radio, interactive – web-based, POP, direct mailer, photography, packaging, logo design, unpublished works, PR and promos.

The third edition of Pepper will also have an exclusive section for participants from Kerala: Jewellery, Real Estate, Textile, Hospitality and Ayurveda. The award winners would be presented with gold, silver and bronze awards and certificates. The Advertising Club Cochin is expecting over 1500 entries for the competition.
 
A three-member panel comprising Taproot CEO Agnelo Dias, Saatchi & Saatchi NCD Ramanuj Shastry and Rediffusion DY&R NCD Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar are the members of the jury for Pepper Awards 2010.

MUMBAI: The HUL, P&G row over the Rin versus Tide detergent ad is only getting thicker. 
 
FMCG major P&G has moved the Calcutta High Court against rival player HUL for putting out a “disparaging” advertisement against Tide.
 
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court has directed P&G to modify its Tide ad as HUL had claimed that the Tide ad misled consumers, giving an idea that it was a natural detergent, even though it is a synthetic product.
 
The controvercial comparative ad went on air on 26 February. In its high-voltage television commercial, HUL compared the superior washing powers of its brand Rin to Tide from the P&G stable. HUL ran a small ticker in its new ad campaign for Rin which said, “Attested by independent labs.”
 

BANGALORE: Following a hugely successful first contest during the Champions League in September-October last year, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) second jaunt of the annual ‘Fantastic Fans Challenge’ contest has thrown up four scribes who will showcase their creative flair and enduring passion for the team during IPL 3.

Aneesh Surender from Hyderabad was adjudged the Chief RCB Blogger, Ashish Parmar from Bangalore was crowned the Chief RCB Photographer, Radio Sandeep from Bangalore was designated as the Chief RCB Podcaster and Sandeep M from Bangalore was chosen the Chief RCB Videographer for the Royal Challengers.
 
The ‘Fantastic Fans Challenge’ contest called for online entries through the Royal Challengers’ website, www.royalchallengers.com for Royal Challengers’ Fans with exceptional writing, photography, videography and commentating skills.

The applicants were then asked to collect public votes and references and the top 36, nine from each category, from over 1300 entries, were selected for the grand finale. The finalists were judged by the Royal Challengers Coach, Ray Jennings and the Captain, Anil Kumble.
 
 
The four winners will be given the opportunity to stay and travel along with the Royal Challengers team, and granted preferential access to all RCB matches. They will fulfill their duties as “content contributors” to the RCB Fan oriented sections of the Royal Challengers website during IPL 3.

Says RCB cricket team captain Anil Kumble, “It is fabulous to see the fans and their undying faith in the team. The chosen 4 now have an excellent but a huge responsibility to run the Royal Challengers Fan channel during IPL. They will bring alive the behind-the-scene stories and constantly update the site with insights and news.”
 
The Chief Blogger will communicate the passion of the team to its fan base during the upcoming IPL, share personal experiences and conduct live chats with the team members on the team’s official website, www.royalchallengers.com .

The Chief Videographer will record the magical sporting moments during the play and practice and on the spot interviews with the team players, celebrities and the cr?me de le cr?me at the stadium.

The Chief Photographer will capture unforgettable shots on and off the pitch, the hotel stay and during travel. The Chief Podcaster will interview the team members and be a commentator for the live cricket matches.
 

MUMBAI: MPG Active, the OOH arm of Media Planning Group (MPG), a Havas Group company, has appointed Rajeev Luthra as business director.

In his new role, Luthra will be responsible for client acquisition and business win. 
 
In addition, In addition, Rajeev will build short / long term budgets in tune with the corporate strategies and assess requirements and conduct negotiations for delivering need-based products to key clients. He will also take care of direct interactive advertising/marketing/branding plans, leverage existing and new partnerships and lead direct implementation, execution, schedules and new businesses pan India.
 
Said MPG directors Raminder Singh and Ankur Rastogi in a joint statement, “Rajeev‘s varied experience across categories and professional capability will surely help our team deliver better. We are quite confident that Rajeev will add a lot of value in enhancing our outdoor business.”
 
Added Luthra, “Having mobilised talent in the last 2-3 years, MPG Active is all set to take the Indian OOH industry to a new level and I look forward to contributing to the team here and becoming a catalyst in helping brands reach a new level of success.”
 

MUMBAI: Maui Jim, the US-based manufacturer of sunglasses that forayed into India, has roped in international Tennis player Elena Dementieva as its brand ambassador.
 
Under the agreement, Elena will promote the products on a global level through various forms of marketing, advertising, PR and communications and promotions.
 
Said Maui Jim International marketing manager Martijn van Eerde, “Apart from being an amazing athlete, her style and personality -on court as well off court- are a great fit with our attitude, AKA Aloha spirit.”

MUMBAI: General Mills has launched a new TVC for its Pillsbury Atta brand, created by advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. 
 
Says Saatchi & Saatchi India creative head Ramanuj Sastry, “This campaign is in line with the Saatchi Lovemark philosophy – to create great brands that inspire love and respect. We are really excited about this campaign and believe that it takes the brand and category forward…with a simple yet memorable campaign.” 
 
The film has been produced by Fingerprint Films.
 

MUMBAI: With the arrival of 2010, Pepsi is ready to adorn the new baseline, Youngistaan ka Wow, an extension of its Youngistaan brand talk that was introduced in 2008.

Keeping in line with the new baseline, Pepsi will launch a new thematic TVC highlighting the “Wow” of the Pepsi drinker. JWT is the creative agency.
 
Says PepsiCo India EVP – marketing Sandeep Singh Arora, “Pepsi has always been synonymous with youthfulness, a ‘can do‘ attitude and ‘in my own way‘ spirit. With the Youngistaan campaign Pepsi branded this young confident generation, celebrated their attitude, their achievements and gave them a rallying cry to go out and make things happen. Now with Youngistaan ka Wow, Pepsi aims to celebrate the audacious self-belief of the youth, the believe with which they are able to make things happen while doing things their own way.”
 
Says JWT vice president Hari Krishnan, “Youngistaan Ka Wow stands for two things – firstly, the refreshment and magic of Pepsi the cola, which makes Pepsi Wow and is the most loved cola for the youth. Secondly, the audacious self belief of the youth that helps them overcome obstacles/conventions and create a Wow.”
 
The brand new communication will be supported by a high decibel ATL, digital campaign, with new engagement modules both online and on-ground.
 

MUMBAI: After receiving complaints from consumers over Hindustan Unilever (HUL)’s Rin ad campaign, the Advertising Standards Council of India (Asci), the watchdog of the Indian ad industry, is examining the issue.
 
In its high-voltage television commercial, HUL compared the superior washing powers of its brand Rin to Tide from the P&G stable. HUL is running a small ticker in its new ad campaign for Rin which says, “Attested by independent labs.”
 
Asci secretary general Alan Collaco said, “A complaint has been registered against the Rin ad. The ASCI‘s Consumer Complaints Council will meet on 23rd March to discuss the matter.”
 
Meanwhile P&G is said to be planning to take HUL to court as its detergent brand Tide has been depitcted negatively in the HUL ad for Rin. It could also launch a new ad campaign as a counter measure.